Talks – AE

“Politics of Hate: Religious Majoritarianism in South Asia and the Middle East” Anti-Defamation League’s Task Force on Middle East Minorities , Washington, DC. (June 27, 2023)
“Can We Protect Religious Freedom and LGBTQ Rights? Covenantal Pluralism is the Key.” Parity and Bellwether International at the Keough School of Global Affairs, Washington, DC. (June 27, 2022)
“The Strategic Nexus in the Eastern Mediterranean” Delphi Economic Forum Breakout Session, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Washington, DC. (March 14, 2021)
“Erdogan’s Diplomatic U-Turn: Prospects and Pitfalls in Turkish-Israeli Relations” Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Washington, DC. (March 7, 2021)
“Moral Courage in Action: Building Alliances and Legislating Change” International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief. (March 2, 2022)
“Turkish-Russian Relations in Ukraine and Beyond: The Stakes for Europe and the United States” Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Washington, DC. (February 4, 2021)
“Turkey in 2022 – Risks and Opportunities” Jewish Policy Center. (January 13, 2022)
“Erdogan’s Folly: Conspiracies Bring Turkey to the Brink of Bankruptcy” The Westminster Institute. (January 12, 2022)
“Inciting and Enabling the Mob: Social Media’s Role in Attacks on Minorities in the Middle East” Anti-Defamation League’s Task Force on Middle East Minorities, Washington, DC. (January 11, 2022)
“Turkey’s Neo-Nationalism, Geopolitics & The Challenges of Turkish Foreign Policy” George E. Danis Security & Diplomacy Seminar on “Energy and Climate Challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean: Conflict or Cooperation.” Emmanuel College, Institute of Eastern Mediterranean Studies, Boston, MA. (January 11, 2022)
“Erdogan’s Rapprochement with Israel and the Jewish People” The Endowment for Middle East Truth, Washington, DC. (January 5, 2022)
“Narratives of Hate: State Media and the Persecution of Minorities in the Middle East” Anti-Defamation League’s Task Force on Middle East Minorities & Daniel Pearl Foundation, Washington, DC. (October 20, 2021)
“Filling the Void in Afghanistan: How Pakistan, Qatar, and Turkey Benefit From U.S. Retreat” Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Washington, DC. (October 8, 2021)
“Ottoman Fantasies and Geostrategic Realities” Combatting Oppression and Empowering the Oppressed, In Defense of Christians Annual Summit 2021, Washington, DC. (September 22, 2021)
“The Human Rights Situation in Turkey” United States Senate Human Rights Caucus, Washington, DC. (June 15, 2021)
“Christians in Turkey: The Way Forward for Equality and Religious Freedom” In Defense of Christians, Washington, DC. (June 15, 2021)
“Turkey Sovereign Wealth Fund” Sovereign Wealth Funds: Corruption Risks and their Drivers Workshop, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington, DC. (April 15, 2021)
“Finding Common Ground, Building Coalitions: Challenges and Prospects of Minority Rights Advocacy in the Middle East and Beyond” Intersectionality of Faith, Gender, and Politics: Reflections on Covering and Advocating for Minority Rights in the Middle East and South Asia Panel, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA. (April 13, 2021)
“Turkish Banks Under Fire at Home and Under Scrutiny in U.S. Courts” Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Washington, DC. (February 26, 2021)
“What Comes After Populism? The Impact Of Capitol Riots On U.S., Turkish, And World Politics” Center for Turkey Studies, London. (January 15, 2021)
“Turkey’s Blue Homeland Naval Concept: The Interplay of Political Islam, Neo-Nationalism, and Geopolitics” George E. Danis Security & Diplomacy Seminar on “A Changing America and A Dynamic Eastern Mediterranean,” Emmanuel College, Institute of Eastern Mediterranean Studies, Boston, MA. (January 12, 2021)
“Finding Common Ground Through FORB Advocacy in the Age of Polarization” International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief, Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom or Belief Side Event. (November 20, 2020)
“From Pastor Andrew Brunson to Osman Kavala: Rethinking Prisoners of Conscience in Turkey and Beyond” Foundation for Defense of Democracies & Anti-Defamation League’s Task Force on Middle East Minorities, Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom or Belief Side Event. (November 19, 2020)
“Concerning Trends for Religious Freedom in Turkey” International Christian Concern & Middle East Concern, Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom or Belief Side Event. (November 18, 2020)
“Turkey – A Hub for Illicit Finance” Jewish Policy Center, Washington, DC. (November 13, 2020.)
“Surviving State-Sanctioned Sectarianism: Coping Strategies of Displaced Alevis” 54th Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association of North America, Washington, DC. (October 17, 2020)
“Turkey: Regional Influencer or Global Threat?” Anti-Defamation League, International Affairs Committee Webinar. (October 8, 2020)
“The role of MPs promoting FoRB and the tools they can use” IPPFoRB Academy 2020. International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief. (September 24, 2020)
“The Tectonic Shifting of Forces within the Middle East: The Emergence of New Regional Partnerships and Threats” The Endowment for Middle East Truth, Capitol Hill Webinar, Washington, DC. (September 9, 2020)
“Hagia Sophia: The Latest Target of Erdogan’s Supremacist Policies” The Westminster Institute, (August 26, 2020)
“Talking Turkey: What Exactly are Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Ambitions in the Middle East?” The Endowment for Middle East Truth, Capitol Hill Webinar, Washington, DC. (July 22, 2020)
“Persecution in the time of COVID-19: Iran, its minorities, conspiracy theories, and its impact on the Middle East,” Anti-Defamation League, Task Force on Middle East Minorities Webinar. (July 21, 2020)
“Hagia Sophia and Religious Freedom” The Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago. (July 20, 2020)
“COVID-19 Impacts on the Middle East Region” Foundation for Defense of Democracies, National Security Fellows Program Virtual Briefing (July 15, 2020)
“A discussion on Hagia Sophia with Archbishop Elpidophoros” Hellenic American Leadership Council Special Briefing. (July 14, 2020)
“State-sanctioned Spreading of the Antisemitism Virus in Turkey” Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation, “Antisemitism is a Virus Too!” Web Talks Series (May 7, 2020)
“Russian Roulette: Putin’s Increasing Footprint in the Middle East and North Africa” The Endowment for Middle East Truth, Capitol Hill Webinar, Washington, DC. (March 19, 2020)
“Turkey’s Drift from the Transatlantic Alliance and its Impact on Turkish-Israeli Relations” Temple Emanu-El of Palm Beach, FL. (February 19, 2020)
“The Syria Scramble: Realities and Expectations for the Region and Beyond” Foundation for Defense of Democracies, National Security Fellows Program, Washington, DC. (January 16, 2020)
“In Between Two Allies: Ramifications of U.S. Withdrawal from Syria” Indiana Council on World Affairs, Indianapolis, IN. (22 November 2019)
“How Erdoğan Consolidates Power: the Weaponization of Turkish Media and the Scapegoating of Minorities” The Westminster Institute. (October 17, 2019)
“Beyond Legislation: Transnational Strategies for Countering Religious Persecution” Foundation for Defense of Democracies & International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief, Washington, DC (July 15, 2019)
“Post-Erdoganism? Turkish Politics After the Istanbul Face-Off” Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Washington, DC (June 25, 2019)
“Results of Erdogan’s Snap Election Gambit: Implications for U.S.-Turkey Relations” Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Washington, DC (June 27, 2018)
“Building Bridges in Religious Freedom Advocacy” Keynote Lecture at the 16th Annual Religious Liberty Dinner, Washington, DC. (22 May 2018)
“The Islamist Takeover of Turkish Media” American Foreign Policy Council Panel on “Digital Dictators: Media, Authoritarianism, and America’s New Challenge,” Washington, DC. (22 May 2018)
“Turkey’s Snap Elections: Erdogan’s Gambit” Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Washington, DC (8 May 2018)
“Atilla, Zarrab, and U.S.-Turkish Relations” Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Washington, DC (January 18, 2018)
“Islam, Democracy, and Dissent in the New Turkey” 8th Annual Conference on Turkey, Middle East Institute, Washington, DC. (4 December 2017)
“Studying Up the ‘Helpers’: The Turkish Political Elite’s Instrumentalization of Displaced Syrians” 116th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Washington, DC. (2 December 2017)
“The Limits of Incorporation: The Failure of Turkey’s “Alevi Opening'” 51st Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association of North America, Washington, DC. (19 November 2017)
“U.S.-Turkish Relations in the Era of Erdogan’s ‘Hostage Diplomacy’” Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Washington, DC. (24 October 2017)
“Arming the Kurds: Implications for U.S.-Turkish Relations” Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Washington, DC. (7 June 2017)
“From Liability to Asset: Realizing Turkey’s Potential” HasNA, Washington, DC. (16 May 2017)
“Turkey after the Referendum: Stability or Turmoil?” Bipartisan Policy Center, Washington, DC. (17 April 2017)
“What is the Future of EU-Turkey Relations?” Woodrow Wilson Center, The Middle East Program Washington, DC (14 April 2017)
“The Historical Process of Alevi-Bektashi Culture” Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN. (13 April 2017)
“The ‘New Turkey’ and its Discontents” Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Washington, DC. (7 April 2017)
“Turkey’s Transition to Presidentialism: From Populism to Authoritarianism” The Institute of Turkish Studies, Georgetown University, Washington, DC. (30 November 2016)
“Local Effects of Global Counterterrorism Policies” The Next President’s Fight Against Terror Conference, Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, The McCain Institute for International Leadership, and the New America Foundation, Washington, DC. (19 October 2016)
“Unravelling the Turkish Coup” Global Forum, Edinburgh Political Union, Edinburgh University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
“July 15 Coup Attempt and the Trajectory of Turkish Politics” School of Professional and Extended Studies, American University, Washington, DC. (22 September 2016)
“The Failed Coup and the Future of Turkey, the Region and U.S. Policy.” Department of Political Science and International Studies, Emmanuel College, Boston, MA. (8 September 2016)
“Quo Vadis? The failed coup and the future of Turkey” Harvard Seminar on Turkey in the Modern World, Center for Middle Eastern Studies & Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. (7 September 2016)
“Terrorism Generational Challenges: Political, Social, Economic, and Strategic Implications” International Center for Terrorism Studies at Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, Arlington, VA (29 August 2016)
“Turkey’s Challenges and What It Means for U.S. Relations” Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, Washington, DC. (11 August 2016)
“Turkey: Ramifications after the attempted coup” The Endowment for Middle East Truth, Rayburn House, U.S. Congress, Washington, DC. (10 August 2016)
“After the Failed Coup: Prospects for Turkish Stability and the U.S.-Turkey Alliance” Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Washington, DC. (21 July 2016)
“Beyond National Unity: The Future of Pluralist Democracy in Turkey” Center for European Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC. (30 August 2016)
“Imagining Religious Freedoms and Diversity Beyond the Halki Seminary” The Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago and The Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Chicago, IL (2 June 2016)
“Turkey’s One-Man Show: Erdoğan’s Agenda After Davutoğlu” Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Washington, DC. (16 May 2016)
“Human Rights and Freedom of Religion or Belief in Turkey” Norwegian Ambassadors to Southeast Europe Conference, Istanbul (12 May 2016)
“Is There Space for Religious Minorities in Erdoğan’s Turkey?” Norwegian Parliament, Oslo, Norway. (26 April 2016)
“The EU-Turkey Deal: The Importance of European Values” D66 Convention, Arnhem, the Netherlands (16 April 2016)
“Turkey’s Authoritarian Turn” The Institute of Turkish Studies, Georgetown University, Washington, DC. (23 March 2016)
“Turkey After Snap Elections: Chaos or Reconciliation?” Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Washington, DC. (November 5, 2015)
“A View from Turkey: Snap Elections, Kurds, and the Islamic State” Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Washington, DC. (September 21, 2015)
“Turkey’s Elections: Results, Consequences, and the Outlook Ahead” Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Washington, DC. (June 15, 2015)
“Migration of Faith: Formations of Alevi Identity”, Marie Curie – The Integration of the Second Generation (TIES) Research Training Network Workshop “All about (Turkish) Migrations and Identity”, Kadir Has University, Istanbul. (26 February 2009)
“Museumification of Contested Religious Sites in Turkey: Accommodating, Incorporating, and Managing Diversity”, University of Johannesburg, Faculty of Humanities, Johannesburg, South Africa. (11 February 2009). [with Tuğba Tanyeri-Erdemir]
“Islams and the ‘Secular’ State: Turkey through the Looking-Glass”, University of Johannesburg, Faculty of Humanities, Johannesburg, South Africa (10 February 2009).
“Hidden in Plain Sight: Systematic Lapses in Perceptions of Structure and Features of Contested Religious Sites”, NSF Workshop on Antagonistic Tolerance: A Comparative Analysis of Competitive Sharing of Religious Sites, University of Delhi, Delhi, India. (21 January 2009). [with Robert Hayden and Tuğba Tanyeri-Erdemir]
The Cultural (il)logics of International Justice: Alevi and Kurdish Strategies at the European Court of Human Rights”, International Conference on State and Democracy, Belgrade University, Faculty of Political Science Belgrade, Serbia (28-29 November 2008).
“Antagonistic Tolerance: Competitive Sharing of Religious Sites in Bulgaria and Turkey”, University of Pittsburgh, Department of Anthropology, Pittsburgh. [coauthored with Robert M. Hayden and Tuğba Tanyeri-Erdemir (3 October 2008).
“Immigrant Work Strategies and Social Rights: The Construction and Circulation of Myths”, Keynote Lecture at the International Conference on “Towards New Geographies of Migration: Transnational Spaces Immigrant Entrepreneurship and Development as Builders of Social and Spatial Organization in Europe”, University of Bremen, Bremen (26-27 September 2008). [written with and presented by Ellie Vasta]
“Internationalization of Social Sciences and Humanities in Turkey “, ESSHRA Working Conference on Internationalisation of Social Sciences and Humanities: How about the Developing Countries? Middle East Technical University, Ankara (9-10 May 2008). [coauthored with Sencer Ayata]
“Shared and unshared challenges for social sciences and humanities and science policies”, GlobalSSH Working Conference on “The Internationalisation of Social Sciences in a Global Comparative Perspective – Challenges for SSH Research and Research Policies: Regional Perspectives, Competencies, Institutions”, Paris, France (23-24 April 2008). [coauthored with Sencer Ayata]
“From Raindrops to Hailstones: Environments of Insecurity in the Case of Emigration from Turkey to London”, GLOMIG International Dissemination Conference: Global Migration: New Dynamics, Strategies, and Visions in the EU and its Neighborhood, Middle East Technical University, Ankara (1 March 2008) [coauthored with Besim Can Zırh]
“Museumification of Contested Cultural Heritage Sites in Turkey: Accommodating, Incorporating, and Managing Diversity”, Lecture Series on Comparative Studies in History and Society, Koç University, Istanbul (10 December 2007). [coauthored with Tuğba Tanyeri-Erdemir]
“State and Human Security in Global Migration”, African Junior Diplomats Training Programme, Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs [TC Dışişleri Bakanlığı Afrikalı Genç Diplomatlar Eğitim Programı], Ankara (20 November 2007).
“Internationalization of Social Sciences and Humanities in Turkey” GlobalSSH Working Conference on “The Internationalisation of Social Sciences”, Beijing, China (14-15 November 2007). [coauthored with Sencer Ayata]
“Museumification of Contested Cultural Heritage Sites in Turkey: Accommodating, Incorporating, and Managing Diversity”, IX. Conference on European Culture, Center of European Studies, University of Navarre, Pamplona, Spain (23-27 October 2007). [coauthored with Tuğba Tanyeri-Erdemir]
“Competitive Sharing of Religious Sites in Turkey”, International Workshop on Competitive Sharing of Religious Sites, Middle East Technical University, Ankara (6-7 October 2007). [coauthored with Tuğba Tanyeri-Erdemir]
“Transnational Shiites and Shiite Transnationalisms: Differentiating and Desecuritizing Shiite Trasnationality”, 10th Conference of the European Society for Central Asian Studies on Central Asia: Sharing Experiences and Prospects, Middle East Technical University, Ankara (12-15 September 2007).
“Differentiating Irregularity and Solidarity: Immigrant work strategies among Turkish immigrants in London”, International Relations Department Seminar, Bilgi University, Istanbul (14 May 2007).
“State and Human Security in Global Migration”, XII. International Junior Diplomats Training Programme, Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs [TC Dışişleri Bakanlığı XII. Uluslararası Genç Diplomatlar Eğitim Programı], Ankara (April 17, 2007).
“What contribution can EU Research on Citizenship, Identity and Immigration make to the definition of a Common EU Immigration Policy?”, Citizenship and Identity in the European Union, National Research council (CNR), Rome, Italy (27 March 2007).
“Migration Policies and Integration in the European Union: Impacts on Society and Politics”, GLOMIG Second International Workshop on Migration to the European Union: challenges, rights and opportunities, Oxford University, Oxford (23-24 February 2007). [coauthored with Helga Rittersberger-Tılıç and Mehmet Okyayuz]
“The Predicament of Culture: Turkey and the Knowledge Economy – Four take-home messages from a social anthropologist”, Knowledge Economy: Experiences of Finland and Strategies for Turkey Workshop, Middle East Technical University, Ankara (21-22 November 2006).
“Immigrant work strategies and social rights: the construction and circulation of myths”, COMPAS Annual Conference, International Labour Migration: In Whose Interests, Centre for Advanced Study in the Social Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford (5-7 July 2006). [coauthored with Ellie Vasta]
“Immigrant Work Strategies among Turkish Immigrants in London: Differentiating Irregularity and Solidarity” presented at the International Migration, Informal Labour and Community in Europe Conference, Istanbul (1-2 Decemebr 2005) [with Ellie Vasta]
“Lahcis and Alevis: Religious Continuity, Disconnect, and Prospects” presented at the European Society for Central Asian Studies 9th Conference on Central Asia: The Local, the Regional and the Global, Krakow, Polonya (12-14 September 2005) [with Ali Yaman]
“Risking all: immigrant work strategies and irregularity” presented at the COMPAS Annual Conference, Irregular Migration: Research, Policy and Practice, Centre for Advanced Study in the Social Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford (7-8 July 2005). [with Ellie Vasta]
“Glocal Neighbors Near and Far: Re-conceptualizing Neighborhood in the Era of Global Migration” presented at the Fourth METU Conference on International Relations: Neighbourhood: Past, Present And Future, Middle East Tehnical University, Ankara (30 June-2 July 2005). [with Besim Can Zırh and Cemre Erciyes]
“Hacıbektaş Festival Revisited: Performances, Embodiments and Displays at the Margins of Europe” presented at “Performing Policy – Enacting Diversity”, European Summer Carnivals in Comparative Perspective Colloquium, Humboldt University, Berlin (13-15 May 2005).
“Politics of Alevi Sexuality in Turkish Sunni Cosmology” presented at the Sexuality Studies in the Middle East Workshop, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University (7 May 2004).
“The Transformation of the Law of Foundations in Turkey” presented at the Works in Progress Workshop at the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University (26 April 2004).
“Islamic Nonprofits in Turkey: Reconfiguration of Alevi Belief and Practice” presented at the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association (AAA), Chicago (19-23 November 2003).
“Transformation of Alevi Collective Action in Turkey: a Contextual and Processual Analysis” presented at the Works in Progress Workshop at the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University (31 March 2003).
“A Critical Reassessment of Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Alevis” presented at the 36th Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA), Washington, D.C. (23-26 November 2002).
“Alternative Apocalyptic Narratives of the Alevi Religious Community in Turkey” presented at the Seventh Annual Conference of the Center for Millennial Studies, Boston University (2-5 November 2002).
“Alternative Modernities? ‘Modern’ Alevis and Alevi Alternatives” presented at the “Local Modernities: Islamic Cultural Practices as Sites of Agency, Mediation, and Resistance” Graduate Symposium, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (5 October 2002).
“The ‘Eastern’ Alevis and the ‘Western’ Elite in Istanbul” presented at the Seventh Biennial Conference of the European Association of Social Anthropologists, Copenhagen, Denmark (14-17 August 2002).
“The Predicament of Alevi Subjects at the Nexus of Supranational and National Sovereignties” presented at the Fourth Annual Globalization Workshop Conference, University of Chicago (3-4 May 2002).
“History as the Battlefield of Activism: Politics of Alevi Historiography in Turkey since 1980” presented at History of Activism, History as Activism Conference, Columbia University (5-6 April 2002).
“Turkish Citizens of African Descent: Suggestions for Further Research” presented at the 10th Annual Boston University Graduate Research Conference in African Studies, African Studies Center, Boston University (22-23 March 2002).
“The Other’s Sexuality as an Idée Fixe: Demarcating Religious Communities in Contemporary Turkish Culture” presented at the Fixed Ideas Interdisciplinary Graduate Student Conference, Harvard University, Barker Center (01-02 March 2002).
“Death of a Community: Alevi Predicament in 1990s Istanbul” presented at the Boas/Benedict Graduate Student Conference, Columbia University (23-24 March 2000).